What to expect from the new Bundesliga season? Kane is a beast, Neverkusen to repeat?
German football back at its best.
With new coaches at Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, will they be able to compete with Leverkusen under Xabi Alonso? Will RB Leipzig and VfB Stuttgart be as bright as ever? Who is going to stay up?
Leverkusen is a menace
After defeating a formidable Bayern Munich in 2023–2024, Leverkusen is the team to look at. They also won the DFB Cup, and during the almost perfect season, they went undefeated in a German record of forty home games before extending the run in a thrilling season-opening Supercup. Is Xabi Alonso's Invincibles the new benchmark for German football, or was it just an isolated incident? The new season told us that another unbeaten run is delayed.
Leverkusen will be up against it on four fronts, so the games will come thick and fast. The rotation of the squad will be crucial, and García, the recent addition, will be crucial (x2) to that process. Granit Xhaka, Exequiel Palacios, and Robert Andrich all played significant roles for Bayer last season, giving them strong midfield options. However, with the addition of former Girona captain García, Alonso now has a versatile player who can play deep or more advanced. In the Supercup, his flawless passing and crossing left an immediate impression. It will be interesting to see how he supplies and collaborates with Florian Wirtz.
Kompany forming a new company
After an unusual season without a trophy at the Allianz Arena, the Bavarian giants decided to turn to the Belgian to lead them back to winning ways. Thus, the Vincent Kompany era at Bayern began. The team that set the record has been bolstered by new players, and a strong preseason suggests that the championship race will likely be exciting.
After going without a trophy for the first time since 2011–12, Bayern will be at the head of the hunt. With Vincent Kompany, a former defender for Hamburg, Manchester City, and Belgium, taking over in the Allianz Arena dugout, Thomas Tuchel has moved on. In addition, the rekordmeister have signed Hiroki Ito, a defender from Japan, and João Palhinha, an enforcer from Portugal. They have also outfitted young talents Josip Stanišić, who won a title with Leverkusen the previous season but would be sidelined due to an injury, and Arijon Ibrahimović with new contracts, all with the intention of bringing what they feel is rightfully theirs back to Munich. Not to be overlooked is Harry Kane, who came just five goals short of matching Robert Lewandowski's record of 41 goals at the end of his rookie campaign.
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Olise, who recently won a silver medal at the Olympics for France, is a welcome addition to Bayern, a team that has already been strengthened by players like Hiroki Ito and João Palhinha. "He possesses amazing qualities. You don't get players like [this] very often," France Olympic coach Thierry Henry remarked on the 22-year-old winger, who scored 16 goals directly in 19 Crystal Palace games during the previous season in the English Premier League.
Turkish sweets from Şahin
As the new head coach of Dortmund, Nuri Şahin, assumes a central role, he will concentrate on helping the team move past the disappointment of finishing in fifth place the previous campaign and replicate some of the standout performances that propelled them to the June Champions League final. The 35-year-old should have assistance from a number of gifted new additions in his squad. Beier is a hidden gem among them.
As a Hoffenheim player the previous season, Beier terrorised Dortmund by celebrating a double goal at his new team's stadium. The 21-year-old attacker made an impression in a few senior friendlies, which led to his call-up to Germany's UEFA Euro 2024 squad. He was that good for TSG Blue last season. With his abundance of talent and enthusiasm, Beier is sure to thrill the Dortmund crowd. Once he's fit, we'll also need to watch how his relationship with Serhou Guirassy grows.
The rise of Stuttgart
Even though Stuttgart lost some important performers over the summer, including Serhou Guirassy, Waldemar Anton, and Hiroki Ito, spirits are still high there. Sebastian Hoeneß's team is highly anticipated to perform well this time around after their incredible previous campaign, which saw them go from relegation contenders to runners-up. There's plenty of things to be optimistic about after the close loss in the Supercup.
After Undav's impressive performance on loan during the previous season, Stuttgart was greatly relieved to have Undav sign a permanent contract. With up to 18 goals and nine assists in the previous season, there's a reason to believe that the skilled German striker can make up for Guirassy's departure by contributing even more to the goal total.
Kane’s factor
At the end of the previous season, Harry Kane was one of the few players from the Bayern team still carrying his dignity. For the first time in twelve years, the 33-time Bundesliga winners were denied a trophy, but it was not because of the lack of effort on the part of Kane, who scored 44 goals across all competitions following his high-profile transfer from Tottenham.
It was truly unfortunate for Kane not to break his silverware duck, but Bayern had at last found their real Robert Lewandowski replacement. The 31-year-old was merciless in front of goal, but he also showed off his ability to play well with others. He developed close relationships with players like Jamal Musiala and Sane, and his ability to draw fouls frequently relieved pressure on Bayern in close games.
With Olise available to assist him as well, should Kane reappear in 2024–25, Bayern should be able to keep Leverkusen at bay and have another successful Champions League campaign. When playing at full capacity, Kane is a lethal weapon who could decide the outcome in the closing moments.
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